Chani Nicholas ( ; born 1975) is a Canadian

astrologer Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

and activist.

Early life and education

Nicholas was born and raised in rural

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. At age 13, she received training in Reiki. By age 29, she moved to Los Angeles in 2004 to pursue acting. After deciding to leave the industry, she enrolled at the

California Institute of Integral Studies The California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) is a private graduate school (with limited undergraduate offerings) in San Francisco. Founded in 1968 as the California Institute of ''Asian'' Studies, the name was changed in 1980. CIIS has b ...

where she completed her bachelor's degree. During this time, she began to study feminists such as

bell hooks Gloria Jean Watkins (September 25, 1952 – December 15, 2021), better known by her pen name bell hooks (stylized in lowercase), was an American author, theorist, educator, and social critic who was a Distinguished Professor in Residence at Be ...

and grew her interest in social justice.

Career

Nicholas began her career by writing a weekly astrology newsletter to friends and family in 2011. Her work focuses on progressive values and marginalized communities, such as

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

and

trans Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of". Used alone, trans may refer to: Sociology * Trans, a sociological term which may refer to: ** Transgender, people who identify themselves with a gender that di ...

people. Nicholas appeared on the fourteenth episode of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' Explained'', "Astrology" in 2018, and she was the "resident astrologer" on ''Oprah Magazine'''s website. Her first book, ''You Were Born For This: Astrology for Radical Acceptance'' was released by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

on January 7, 2020. In an interview with

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

, Nicholas stated that she hoped to "write a book that would help people access the wisdom of their chart so that they could more quickly align with living out their purpose. And so that we could all be, again, more quickly of service to the world." The book debuted at #8 on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list. In December 2020, Nicholas launched an app called CHANI where users can receive astrology information.

Awards and recognition

In 2018, Nicholas was honored by the Astraea Foundation in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

for the impact her work has had on inspiring and nourishing queer and intersectional feminist spaces. She was also honored by the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is a multi-disciplinary Contemporary art, contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that cel ...

YBCA 100 Summit in 2018.

Personal life

Nicholas is married to Sonya Passi, the founder of Freefrom, a national organization working to financially empower survivors of domestic violence. They reside in Los Angeles.

Works

* ''You Were Born For This: Astrology for Radical Acceptance'' (2020), HarperCollins;

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Chani 1975 births Living people 21st-century astrologers 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian astrologers Canadian LGBTQ writers Writers from British Columbia 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people